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Interior Design School Accreditation

Accreditation can impact financial aid, transfer credits, and, perhaps most importantly, how future employers will view the credibility of your interior design education.

An interior designer's educational foundation is established at the university level, where the fundamentals are drilled into the minds of students. The knowledge continuing education brings is only an offshoot of the basics, like newly grown branches extending from a tree trunk.

That's why the industry places a strong emphasis on attending a college or university accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA, formerly known as FIDER), an organization established in 1970 to create standards for curriculum and quality. According to the most recent numbers, CIDA has accredited over 150 undergraduate programs in interior design.

"Back when we started with accreditation, the objective was to be able to be sure that when a person got a degree in interior design that it actually prepared them for the work of the profession," says Barbara G. Anderson, an assistant professor and coordinator of the Interior Design program in the College of Human Ecology at Kansas State University.

"So the [CIDA] accreditation is the way for a consumer to verify the quality of the education they will get," Anderson says.

In some states, interior design might be controlled by government regulations. That's only one of the reasons why it's essential that an interior design program holds fast to standards established by the interior design industry and its professionals. Accreditation ensures this, in addition to certifying that the education received is pertinent to employment.

A degree from a CIDA-accredited school, which may take up to five years to attain, has perks including increased job opportunities. "I won't hire anyone who has not gone to a [CIDA]-accredited school. I won't even interview them," says Barbara Schlattman, a Houston-based interior designer who opened shop in 1975 and has received national awards for her work.

However, not all companies feel this way, and some may put a higher premium on licensing. One example is Omaha, Neb.-based interior design firm Leo A Daly, which has 1,000 employees internationally. Leo A Daly, annually ranked as one of interior design's 10 largest companies, does not place a high premium on attending a CIDA-accredited school, a spokesman says.

"It's not something that we ask them to prove or go back to university and ask," says Michael Riordan, corporate director of marketing and communications of Leo A Daly.

Along with CIDA (which accredits interior design programs specifically), six regional authorities in the U.S. accredit schools that teach interior design programs:

• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges
• Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges
• Middle State Association of Colleges and Schools
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges

Related Education Information

Choosing an Interior Design School

Interior Design Degrees

Interior Design Continuing Education